The 2018 men’s soccer season is on the horizon and will begin with a series of exhibition matches starting Aug. 12 at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex.

The Huskies take on the St. Louis Community College Archers in an exhibition to open the season, but their first official match will take place on the road Aug. 24 against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats at Gettler Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Huskies don’t host a home match until Sept. 7 when they host the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex.

NIU finished last season with a 3-11-1 record, including an 0-4-1 in conference. However, Head Coach Ryan Swan said he’s confident their fortunes will change this season.

“I think whenever there’s a coaching change, it’s going to take a little bit of time to adjust the coaches and the players,” Swan said. “I think we had a good spring developmentally, and now bringing in a large class that we have had the chance to evaluate and will come in be able to play the way we want them to. We are excited about the fall; the returners are excited, the new guys are excited, so we are very confident that this will be a much improved season.”

Freshman forward Alex Welch led the Huskies in goals last season before going down to injury.

“I think we would hope Welch steps into a more prominent role now that he is healthy again,” Swan said. “Prior to getting injured, [he] was leading the team in goals [and] will have some more this year.”

Sophomore forward Jan Maertins will return after leading the team in goals last season. Newcomers should also provide an offensive impact to help right the ship.

“Several of the new guys have the opportunity and talent to score some goals,” Swan said. “Irvin Dominguez from midfield, Nick Markanich, one of our freshmen coming in, has a phenomenal record at the high school level. Those guys offensively I think will be good.”

There will be significant changes on the defensive side of the ball as well, with Konrad Dziedzic and Christoph Koninger fighting for a spot in goal and new talent on the backline.

“We could have a lot of new faces on the backline. Lawrence [Kwazema] has a chance; he had a very good spring season with us, and Anthony Markanich at left back will come in and challenge,” Swan said. “Pierce Ugarte’s Sockers team had a great run in the regional tournament as well, so, [with] a lot of high-level guys, there will be a lot of competition and it will be interesting to see who does step up during preseason.”

Swan hopes these changes will allow his team to dictate play. If the Huskies can control the pace of play, it should lead to better results.

“The game plan going into every match would hopefully be that we are going to dictate the way the game goes and I think that is something we were not able to do last year,” Swan said. “We want to impose our style of play on our opponent rather than trying to counter what they are bringing to us. We are hoping to be a possession-oriented team and play an attractive style of soccer that is fun for fans to watch.”